Wilt thou not cry unto me?

God love us to put Him first in all things. It is, not surprisingly, the first commandment of the Decalogue, and reflects the heart of God. He wants us to love Him above all things. Imagine the chagrin of a spouse who finds out that his/her partner has been unfaithful. God uses the same picture to explain to us how He feels.

Jeremiah
3:1They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

2Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

3Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

4Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

5Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

We are easily distracted today. I find it so much easier to switch on the TV news, or to listen to the radio, or call a friend on the phone, or just think of work or some other matter, rather than use these extra time to think or meditate on God and Hi goodness.
Practicing the presence of God daily is not an easy exercise. It has always been a problem for human beings, even for those whom God has called to him (his people or his elect).

Anything or anyone who takes our attention away from God is an idol. But Jeremiah intimates to us that to God, who love us so much, any attention or deviation that gives power and value to something else is very painful to God. So we come back to the question - How would we feel if our spouse were unfaithful? This is the picture God uses to tell us how He feels (v. 1-2).

As I ponder this, I realize it is very painful to God. Even the trivial things that we dismiss as not very sinful, is painful to God.

Yet we often return to Him for help in times of need. God never turns us away when we come back to Him. But He wants us to be repentant and to learn from the experiences (v.2). He welcomes us back.

This is particularly so because God knows that we suffer consequences because of our sin (v.4). If a smoker develops bronchitis due to smoking, he will suffer further consequences if he does not heed the call to stop smoking. It is the same in the spiritual realm, though it may not seem so dramatic. The choice is left to us, says the Lord.

In summary:

1. God loves us so much that He is greatly pained when we ignore or disobey Him. We do that if we give too much importance to something or someone. Not everything we do is “bad”. But we may need to give up even “neutral” things that deviate our attention or take time away form God. (v.1)

2. God wants us to look at what we are doing and realise what we have done (v.2). This is often the most difficult part, because we such good rationalisers of our own actions.

3. God wants us to see that this type of behavior will affect the blessings we receive from God.(v.3) The consequences of sin will find us out, especially if we remain unrepentant.

4. God wants us to turn to Him in repentance. We are promised that God will forgive, if we are truly penitent (1 John1: 9).

God is constantly asking, “Wilt thou not turn to me?” We can safely come to His presence, no matter how great or small or indiscretions. For many of us, our sins may seem small or insignificant (e.g. we may not have murdered someone), but in God’s eyes, we have played the harlot even if our sin is “small” by human standards.

Turn to Him now and seek forgiveness. If you are a Christian, ask the Lord for forgiveness and turn from the ways that divert your attention from Him. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you, promises Jesus. It does not depend on feelings.

If you are not a Christian, there is no better time than now to accept His free gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Often, you may feel that God will not forgive you. Will God always be angry (v.5)? It is a rhetorical question, and the answer is obviously no. He has provided the way to forgiveness. The Lord always seeks to save. Thanks be to God that He is love. He has made provision for the sin, by sending Jesus to atone for our sin. Through Jesus, there is redemption and forgiveness of sin (Ephesians 1:7).

Will you turn to the Lord today?

Amen
Dr Joshua Raj